Called a local talk show today. The substitute host was talking about the school in Kentucky that is excising Linus' monologue from "A Charlie Brown Christmas" because it is a direct recital of biblical scripture.
His harangue was the tired old saw: If we allow Christian scriptures to be recited in school then we have to, in the name of tolerance, allow recitations of other religious scriptures, including the Koran.
I told him I reject that premise because far from making a case of neutral value judgments he was, in fact, exalting the "virtue" of tolerance above all other virtues thus making his own value judgments as much as any religious proselytizer.
I asked him, "Why is Tolerance the highest virtue?"
He responded by asking, "I want to know if you're principled enough to admit if you admit Christian scripture then you would also allow 'An Achmed Ramadan'."
I replied that I do not hold Tolerance as the highest virtue, so there is no contradiction for me. I said I make value judgments and as far as I'm concerned Islam is -- and I quote myself as I said it over the air -- "a creed unworthy of a civilized people" so disallowing it is no more offensive to me than disallowing Marxists or fascists.
He argued back that the laws and principles of the nation say we are not to exalt one religion over another.
I corrected him in saying that only matters so long as the religion in question is not a threat to society and that the only reason we have those laws is because the theists and deists who founded the nation believe in free will as being a requisite to spirituality. I also said there are plenty of creeds he would immediately reject even in the most culturally relative environment because they strayed too far from his values.
He then cut me off and said he had to go to other callers (after he had spent a half hour argue with his previous caller).
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This whole "Thou Shalt Be Tolerant" commandment always strikes me as hypocritical, self-contradicting bullshit.
